* Thursday Update

(o+) Anything to Discredit the Interim Government: Overreaction Heaped on Overreaction ... and How to Discredit Yourself

On Tuesday the Fiji Sun ran an article on a claim by "an unnamed policeman" that the (Police Christian crusade against crime) was being imposed on Indo-Fijian police officers, and that "officers who had converted to the New Methodist Church, which had been conducting most of the crusades, have been getting promotions."

By Wednesday, all the press, the national TV, and two anti-Interim Government NGOs (the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre and the Movement for Democracy in Fiji) had rolled up their sleeves and were swinging wildly at Police Commissioner Commodore Esala Teleni (photograph) who, admittedly, didn't help his case by having privately (sic!) lambasted Indo-Fijian officers for disloyalty in speaking to the media, and for their negative comments about the crusade. He is said to have warned the officers to support him or leave the force. The media and NGOs called him a racist and some called for his resignation.

But it now transpires no senior Indo-Fijian officer spoke to the media and none has been coerced to support the crusade. They do, however, claim to know who was "the real voice behind the article". One officer said "We believe it is the different denominations of the Christian faith within the police who are unhappy with the crusade, or at least which denomination is heading it. At times", he said, "I have gone to the crusades on my own accord, and have never been told to convert as some media have reported". He said they had "nothing against the police chief for speaking to us the way he did because he has strong beliefs about his faith ... As for the crusade, we support it, it brings discipline into the force and we have never been forced to attend any of the crusades.” (Fiji Live)

Too late. Such was the "crisis" created by the media that Interim Defence Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau and PM Bainimarama took precious time out to speak with Teleni, and later the media. Both supported Teleni.

By Thursday Shaista Shameen (FHRC), Mahendra Chaudhry (FLP), Mike Beddoes and Akuila Yabaki (CCF) thought the need for further comment when, other than insistence on personal and religious freedom, they may have been better to have said nothing.

There is no question that Teleni's outburst did him no credit (and no question that personal and religious freedoms must be protected) but the media must also accept responsibility. They started the fire, fanned and whipped up the flames over what would appear to be a relatively minor incident -- and much of what they reported would seem to be incorrect.

To play a responsible role in a Fiji where its opponents use every opportunity to discredit the Interim Government, the media must at least check its sources -- the original sources, not those of an "unnamed" someone printed by another newspaper -- and do what it can to douse unnecessary heat. Cool heads, not merry arsonists, are needed in the months ahead.

P.S. Friday. And it's not over yet. Overreaction builds on overreaction. FijiLive reports that the military is conducting a "headhunt" to identify the officers who spoke to the press. "Interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has also confirmed advising Teleni, his former military second-in-command, to carry out the head hunt and rout them out of the Force."

(-) Pramod Rae, Gen.Sec. of the once important National Federation Party, has once again supported Laisenia Qarase. This time on his statement that all Forum countries should join Australia and New Zealand in imposing a travel ban on members, supporters and relatives of the military and Interim Government. [Other than as a token gesture of solidarity, bans by other Forum countries could weaken the Forum's influence, and backfire on Forum countries dependent on the Nadi air hub for their travel, should Fiji choose to retaliate. This blog agrees with the growing number of people who believe the travel bans have been counter-productive. At the very least they should be applied more selectively. Punishing children for the "sins"of their fathers is not the way to go.]